Hometeam Football Flashback: 50 years ago, Tousignant gave Devils the boot - Gate House

By Mike Richard Football Flashback

November 04. 2012 6:00AM

Hometeam Football Flashback: 50 years ago, Tousignant gave Devils the boot

They say baseball is a game of inches, but football games can be decided by a foot.

In this case, the well-placed foot of Gardner High's Bob Tousignant.

It was 50 years ago yesterday, on Nov. 3, 1962, when Tousignant booted the lone field goal of the Walt Dubzinski Sr. coaching era — and the first Gardner field goal in 36 years — for the only points in a 3-0 victory over Leominster at Doyle Field.

“The most ironic thing about (the field goal) was that I had never attempted one before and never attempted one again,” Tousignant said, noting that the game was played in a downpour with Doyle Field a muddy quagmire.

Tousignant was the team's place-kicker and credited assistant coaches Marty Anderson and Bob Duncan with preparing him on special teams for the kicking game.

“We were always practicing kicking with those guys, so I was a little better prepared than usual for kicking that day,” he said.

There was probably a little more pressure on the high school junior that day as well since earlier in the morning, his father was stricken with a heart attack and rushed to Heywood Hospital before Tousignant left for the game.

“I had second thoughts about playing that day, but my dad told me to get out there and play the game,” he remembered.

Late in the first quarter, with the Wildcats knocking on the door for a touchdown but not making it after three tries, the coaching staff looked to do something a little different.

“Coach Dubzinski came up to me, put his arm around my shoulder, and said, 'I think we'll try a field goal.' It was great intuition by Dubie,” Tousignant said.

Even more ironic was the fact that it was the lone field goal made or attempted during the 20-year Dubzinski football coaching era.

Longtime Gardner News sports writer Omer Cormier, who has covered the Wildcats for nearly 60 years, was also quite taken aback about the try for three.

“On fourth down, when they didn't make it, they lined up in this kick formation with Tousignant ready to kick like it was an extra point and I said to myself, 'What a dumb move, Coach Dubzinski.'

“This was the first period and not getting six points when you have to get it — well, we all know the result now. The three points stood up for the whole game. I think it was shorter than an extra point. I thought the three points would never stand up in the face of this Leominster team.”

However, stand up it did. In that same game, Tousignant had a 60-yard punt return for a touchdown snuffed out by a clipping call.

The touchdown try went for naught, but it was his field goal which gave the Wildcats a choice win over Leominster and gave Tousignant his moment of glory in the Gardner football spotlight.

“The field goal went right over the upright, and I remember Leominster protested vehemently that it was no good,” Tousignant said of the game-deciding kick, which was credited as a 12-yarder.

After high school, Tousignant attended Springfield College and in 1968 was one of 35 rookies vying for spots on the Boston Patriots' roster. He was being considered for a safety position.

Ranked as one of the top defensive backs in New England college football when he served as co-captain for the Maroons, he was a two-time second-team All-New England Defensive Team pick.

After the Patriots, under coach Mike Holovak, lost Ron Hall, Chuck Shonta and White Graves in the 1967 offseason, a slot was opened in the defensive backfield.

On March 28, 1968, Tousignant signed a free-agent contract with the Patriots.

“I wasn't drafted at the time, but I signed on as a free agent,” Tousignant recalled. “I went to training camp with them in Andover, but they felt at the time that I was too slow.”

A nagging knee injury suffered after the fourth game of the season at Springfield curtailed some of his playing time during his senior year, when he missed four games. He returned for the final two games that season, but the injury may have affected his tryout with the Patriots.

On July 30 of that year, Tousignant played safety as the Patriots defeated the Lowell Giants, 22-7, in their annual preseason game with their farm team. However, a few days later, he was released to Lowell. After accepting a teacher-coach position at Ayer High, Tousignant planned to practice with Lowell in the evenings once the school year began.

“I played with them for a few games, but at the time, I was teaching and coaching at Ayer,” he recalled. “My responsibilities were such that I had to quit playing football. But in the final analysis, I was very grateful for the opportunity.”

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There have been more than 40 Central Mass. high school football games decided by a 3-0 score, with the most recent one occurring on Oct. 8, 2010, when Maynard's Dan Chiasson booted a 30-yard field goal with 7 seconds left to give the Tigers a 3-0 win over Nashoba Tech.

Once again, Telegram & Gazette sports writer and resident high school football historian Bill Ballou contributed some scores to this list.

Here are some of the more unique and memorable 3-0 high school football games over the years:

•The first recorded 3-0 game on record occurred on Nov. 10, 1910, when Fitchburg's Clarence Amiott converted a drop kick from the 15-yard line for the 3-0 victory over Nashua. Amiott would go on to coach Fitchburg from 1913-33, including a 3-0 victory over Brockton on Nov. 6, 1926, when Lauri Myllikangas kicked a 20-yard field goal for the win.

•The annual Leominster-Fitchburg football game was decided by a 3-0 score back on Nov. 23, 1978, when Blue Devils kicker Frank Novak made a 21-yarder in overtime.

•Another annual Thanksgiving rivalry — David Prouty and Leicester — was twice decided by a 3-0 score, with the Panthers winning both games. On Nov. 24, 1983, Prouty's David Woodward booted a 21-yard field goal for the 3-0 win. Then, exactly 11 years to the day, on Nov. 24, 1994, Brian White's 24-yard field goal led Prouty over the Wolverines, 3-0.